Two teens were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning Saturday night after police broke up a raucous party in Breezy Point, the insular "privately owned cooperative" at the western edge of the Rockaway Peninsula. The parents who threw the party at their home were arrested and charged with 10 counts each of endangering a child under 17. Dozens of teens were reportedly drinking at the party—most of them lacrosse players from the prestigious Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. Now the incident has shed unwanted light on Breezy Point, where residents pride themselves on their tight-knit community, which is mostly policed by a private security force.
Breezy Point is accessed by a public state road, but tollbooth-like barricades block the mouth of each street. On Saturday night an officer from the 100th Precinct was patrolling the community when he came upon the party and spotted numerous teens drinking. Anthony and Claire E. Reyes were subsequently arrested and given desk appearance tickets. And yesterday the Times used the arrests as an opportunity to look at the issue of underage drinking in Breezy Point, where parents are known to let their children drink at home in an attempt to keep them from partying on the beach without supervision:
The community is so closely knit, and so used to parties, that there was some disbelief at the charges. Speculation was rife that a neighbor with a grudge had called the police, or that the security force was being extra-vigilant because of a recent episode (residents were angry that the security force had not more aggressively warned the community of a suspected attempt at abduction). Security officials declined to comment.
"There's a lotta worse things going on," local Pat Mitchell tells ABC. "No matter how vigilant you are as a parent, kids are going to drink,” one Poly Prep parent tells the Post. “I don’t expect parents to have the same responsibility supervising high school kids as they do kindergartners." The tabloid also reports that the Poly Prep lacrosse team "includes players such as Jesse Bongiovi, son of rock star legend Jon Bon Jovi — though police would not confirm if he was at the party. A rep for Bon Jovi declined comment." Somehow we suspect that even if he was there, this kid isn't in too much trouble.
